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DAYTON ADMITTED TO BLOWING UP RATS
By Michael Brodkorb | February 13, 2005
Senator Dayton is weird. There is no polite way of saying it, he is just a weird man.
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Column: Dayton: Rat blast not a good sign for senator
Any time a U.S. senator admits to blowing up rats in a microwave oven, even unintentionally, it’s obvious his political future is in doubt.
Mark Dayton had been a senator less than two years when he was on a telephone conference call with Minnesota reporters, talking about his impending move to a townhouse.
One problem: He had to get rid of his sons’ pet boa constrictor. The good news, however, was the move meant he would not have to thaw frozen rats to feed the snake.
“You only try it once,†the Minnesota DFLer said. “Take my word for this one.â€
When pressed, he issued a warning: “Don’t try to thaw them out by putting them in the microwave; it takes a couple of days to clean the remains out of the microwave.â€
Dayton’s comments did not paint a pretty picture, and it was a pretty stupid comment from a politician.
The rat story is not why Dayton decided to step aside from what had been his expected 2006 re-election race. But it may be the best illustration about why his decision is a good move for the DFL Party.
To be kind, Dayton is not the most polished officeholder Minnesotans have seen. He often has trouble putting together a complete sentence and is nervous in crowds that politicians frequent.
“It is still not easy for me to be in public,†he said.
In a public television interview with Mary Lahammer, he talked about Jerry Jones, the invisible friend he had as a kid.
“I took him with me on all our trips,†he said in the 2000 Twin Cities Public Television documentary.
And he blamed Jerry when something went wrong: “Even at a young age, like politicians, I was learning to try to evade blame and put it on someone else, even fictitious.†“I was very much a loner,†he said about his youth. “I was socially awkward, too.†He didn’t have a chance to play with other children. He said he played football, basketball and other sports “solitaire.â€
Dayton, born in 1947, lived with a welfare family in New York City sharing a bed with one of their children not long after college.
Later, he married a Rockefeller. That ended in divorce and he spent his 40th birthday in the Betty Ford Clinic’s alcoholism rehabilitation program.
Dayton was state auditor, but a few years later finished a dreadful fourth in a governor’s run. When he decided to seek the U.S. Senate job, he stopped by the Capitol pressroom unannounced and told reporters he had nothing better to do so he was running.
The senator’s worst public relations problem came last October when he closed his Washington, D.C., office, claiming there was a terrorism threat. No one else closed their offices, so Dayton looked foolish.
On top of that, Dayton decided he could not afford to finance his own campaign this time around, after spending $12 million of his own money getting elected in 2000.
“I do not believe that I am the best candidate to lead the DFL Party to victory next year,†Dayton said in announcing he would not run again. “I cannot stand to do the constant fund-raising necessary to wage a successful campaign, and I cannot be an effective senator while also being a nearly full-time candidate.â€
Don Davis is Capitol correspondent for the Pioneer. Source: Bemidji Pioneer, February 13, 2005
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